The Tempest
by Blazil
Summary: Humanity returns to Pandora, but the RDA is no longer in charge. The expedition is controlled by an organization known as the Tempest. Its leader hopes that a truce between Earth and Pandora can be formed to restore the peace. However, the Tempest has a rather radical way of enforcing the peace... This story follows "The Invasion", but it can be read as a standalone story.
1. The return to Pandora

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

"**The Tempest" is a sequel of "The Invasion" although it can also be read as a standalone story. You do not need to have read "The Invasion" to understand what is going on in this story, although I recommend you do so if you are interested in details of the events that led up to this story, or if you want to know more about the history of certain characters that appear later on in this story.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

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**Chapter 1: The return to Pandora**

2162

A year had passed since the defeat of the invading machines on Pandora. The RDA had sent them in 2154, in response to the forced retreat of the human expedition. At that time, the primary goal had been to keep its investors and shareholders pleased. The killing of indigenous life forms was considered unfortunate, but it would have been necessary to ultimately pave the way for a new human expedition to Pandora. However, the RDA had never gotten the chance to organize something like this, because soon after the interstellar vehicle had left Earth, the details of the mission had been leaked to the public. The result was that its company shares had dropped significantly. The main reason for this was not that they had planned to murder the indigenous people. The real reason was that RDA had put their trust in aggressive artificially intelligent machines, which were known to have been involved in the killing of innocent humans and a subsequent government cover-up.

However, this scandal had not stopped humanity as a whole from returning to Pandora. It had become clear that the unobtanium was more than just a way to make profit; it had become vital for the future of humanity. Right now, an interstellar vehicle was entering orbit around Pandora. It did no longer have RDA logos painted on its hull. These had been replaced by logos that consisted of a white circle with a black dot in the middle, which was surrounded by black lightning sparks. The vehicle had been renamed ISV Scouter. It transported two modernized shuttles, and a few orbital cargo containers. Even before it had stabilized its orbit, one of the shuttles was released and promptly fired its engines. Minutes later, it began to enter the atmosphere of Pandora.

Inside the main loading area of the shuttle, a team of twelve soldiers was waiting to begin their mission. Their uniforms reminded of those used by the SecOps of the RDA. However, they were not associated with either of these organizations. They belonged to the organization simply known as the Tempest. While strapped into their seats, most of them were just doing their own thing for as far as they could, with an old school rock 'n roll song playing in the background. Major Lockwood was reading a book and scratching his bald head. Two others were bickering like an old married couple. The first one was called Ralf, who was a stocky and short individual. The other one was called Charlie, who had a gaunt face and sunken eyes. He was trying to impress and amuse Ralf by reciting some of the urban legends he had heard about their Leader Wilhelm Torr. Ralf always had the tendency to criticize and ridicule whatever Charlie bragged about.

According to Charlie, something had happened on one of the occasions that Wilhelm had been invited to a dinner party with various senators and other politicians. While they were enjoying the party, they were interrupted by a cowardly eco-terrorist who had apparently gotten past security, and who claimed to have placed a bomb somewhere in the building. When Wilhelm got up from the table to teach him a lesson, the eco-terrorist realized who he was dealing with, and quickly ran for the door. Wilhelm, of course, pursued him. In a panic, the terrorist foolishly fled to the roof of the building. Naturally, Wilhelm could corner him there. When Wilhelm ripped off his own shirt to show his muscled physique, this was enough to intimidate the terrorist into surrendering. However, when Wilhelm grabbed him by his jacket collar to take him to security, the terrorist tore off Wilhelm's black armband with the Tempest logo. The terrorist thought he had the last laugh by dishonoring Wilhelm like this, but he was surprised to find a tattoo of the Tempest logo underneath it. With the look of disbelief still on the terrorist's face, Wilhelm simply punched him in the stomach, which caused him to fall down unconscious. After this incident, all security personnel assigned to politicians was replaced with personnel of the Tempest.

When Charlie finished the story, Ralf pointed out that he didn't mention what happened to the bomb. Charlie then insisted that the bomb was merely a bluff of the cowardly terrorist, but Ralf believed he was simply making up shit as he went along. When Charlie refused to acknowledge this, the two of them started throwing insults at each other, until Charlie was hit in the face by a book. Everyone suddenly stopped talking. Major Lockwood was the one who had thrown it and he was now eyeing them both like he was about to kill them. He did not say a single word. Luckily for them, at that instant the jump light turned from red to yellow, indicating that they had to begin their mission.

The music was immediately switched off. All soldiers unbuckled themselves from their seats, put on their breathing masks and began preparing the rest of their equipment. Soon, they were all lined up and ready to jump. Major Lockwood would be the first one to step out of the shuttle and now reminded his soldiers that they had to land on the target area. If they didn't manage to do this, they would be on their own for at least several hours, possibly even days. He then tapped few buttons on the miniature control panel on his wrist, and the cargo bay door promptly opened itself. The air inside the cargo bay was instantly replaced with the air of Pandora. The major now had a magnificent view of the Hallelujah Mountains region, but he did care how it looked. The only thing that was on his mind right now was the mission. It was crucial for the future of humanity.

The instant the light turned green, the major jumped from the shuttle. The others quickly followed, one at a time. After having jumped, each of them opened their parachutes at a certain altitude. All of the soldiers looked like they were well trained and knew how to handle themselves, even Ralf and Charlie, despite their earlier unprofessional bickering. Without much effort, all twelve of them landed on the target area, which was one of the floating rocks. Major Lockwood then reminded them via the intercom that they should only engage Pandoran creatures if they posed a threat to the mission. This was a direct order from the Leader. Both Ralf and Charlie were eager for some action however. Charlie loaded a magazine with depleted Uranium rounds into his sniper rifle, while Ralf attached a belt of ammo to his portable minigun.

Some of the soldiers didn't carry heavy weaponry in their backpacks. Instead, they carried a wide variety of tools and components. A team of four soldiers now began assembling some sort of device out of the components, which was completed only minutes later. With his specialized scanner, major Lockwood had already located the exact area they had to use it on. While they moved the device into place, the rest of the soldiers kept an eye on the surrounding environment. So far, no direct threats had been detected. Once activated, the device used its miniature tank threads to crawl over the ground. It made the same wide circle several times, until, the entire floating rock started shaking. A cone shaped rock with a length of five meters began to emerge. It had been cut free by the device using a high energy laser. Since the cone contained a higher concentration of unobtanium than the rest of the floating rock on which the team had landed, it had the tendency to drift upwards. Before it could float too far away, however, a net was thrown over it. Once the cone had been tethered to the rest of the rock, it was fitted with a proper harness to airlift it away, while major Lockwood contacted the shuttle.

Before the shuttle had returned to pick up the cone, a flock of banshees had drawn nearer. If they would get too close, they could pick up members of the team and throw them off the rock. Using his scope, Charlie confirmed that they were wild banshees without any Na'vi riders. Major Lockwood gave permission to engage them. Ralf's smile widened and he admitted that he was curious to see how almost seven years of being frozen had affected his accuracy. But Charlie's weapon had a far longer range, and thus he was the first one to fire a shot. One of the banshees was hit near the neck and it immediately began to panic. Charlie complemented himself on the fact that the first shot he had fired in seven years was a direct hit. But Ralf considered him a cheater. According to him, a sniper rifle was only for pussies. It would take a real man to accurately fire a minigun. This remark earned him a sarcastic response from Charlie that Ralf could indeed hit his target about ten times if he fired a thousand rounds with that thing. Ralf's only response to this was some unintelligible muttering. He then proceeded to fire three short bursts, followed by a long burst that completely ripped through one of the banshees. After this, he made a remark that he did indeed need more rounds, but at least he managed to kill his target swiftly, instead of just wounding it and attracting its attention. Charlie now intended to finish off the banshee he had hit in the neck, firing three more times. He too managed to bring his target down. The two of them did not stop until all the banshees of the flock were killed.

A few minutes later, the shuttle returned. The surrounding sky was free from any threats, so it was safe for the shuttle to hover over the floating rock. The harness of the cone was then attached to the steel cable of the shuttle's lifting mechanism, which had been specifically installed for this mission. Soon, the cone had been lifted into the cargo bay of the shuttle. The soldiers and the equipment were the next priority. Less than a minute later, the cargo bay door was closed and the shuttle resumed its course. It returned to space again, without even having landed on Pandora. Once in orbit, it docked again with the ISV Scouter. All they had to do now was to wait for the rest of the fleet to arrive.

Two days later, six more interstellar vehicles arrived from deep space. The first one to arrive was the ISV Provider, which primarily transported personnel and the most important colonization materials. It was followed by the ISV Protector with its containers filled with defensive weaponry and equipment. The ISV Conqueror was the third to arrive. It transported additional personnel and weapons. Not long after, the ISV Tractor arrived. It was a heavily modified ISV which was designed to tow a large space station. Once the vehicle had stabilized its orbit, the space station was released to orbit Pandora on its own. The fifth to arrive was the ISV Refiner, which was also heavily modified. It had an onboard unobtanium refinery, which was designed to work in space. When it arrived, the shuttle containing the unobtanium cone immediately left the ISV Scouter to dock with it. The last one to arrive was the ISV White Walrus, which was named after the nickname of the Leader of the Tempest, Wilhelm Torr. It transported the Leader himself, as well as the other commanders and the council of the United Nations.

Hours later, the shuttle transporting the now refined cone undocked with the ISV Refiner and headed for the large space station. The station had begun revolving around one axis to create artificial gravity. It had also begun expanding its solar panels and mirrors. When everything had been expanded, it looked like a giant rotating Tempest logo if viewed from certain angles. Once the shuttle had docked with it, the next phase could begin.

The ISV's now began releasing their shuttles and containers. Most of the containers were essentially single-use reentry craft, which were piloted manually by humans. Their goal was to land near the site of Hell's Gate to provide all materials and equipment required to set up a new permanent base on Pandora. In contrast, the shuttles mostly carried personnel and provisions and were designed to be reusable.

The old base of Hell's Gate was deserted and destroyed, which the Tempest had expected. However, the analysts aboard the space station had already determined that the structural layout of the base had been modified, most likely by the artificially intelligent machines the RDA had sent. The machines themselves did not appear to inhabit it anymore, though. Nevertheless, as a safety precaution, the detonation signal for the explosives installed in the A.I. mainframe was sent. At least the RDA had been smart enough to include this safety measure in case the machines were still active when humanity would return. Without the mainframe, the individual machines would be relatively helpless, according to old reports.

The numerous landing containers and shuttles soon attracted the attention of nearby Na'vi clans. However, a defensive perimeter was quickly set up, as well as an audio broadcast system. The voice of the Leader now sounded through the speakers. It was a prerecorded message that was intended to inform the Na'vi that they came in peace and that they were willing to set up a truce with them. To discuss the terms, they were instructed to send their representatives to a designated area outside of the defensive perimeter, where representatives of the Tempest were willing to receive them. The message was broadcasted in both the English language as well as the Na'vi language, which the Leader also appeared to speak fluently.

Around this time, the personal shuttle of the Leader finally landed in the middle of the area surrounded by the perimeter. Major Lockwood was waiting outside of it to welcome him. When the door opened, six of Wilhelm's elite guards emerged first, after which the man himself became visible. Major Lockwood kneeled before him. Wilhelm towered over of his troops with his impressive height of around 2.20 meters. He was dressed in a beige uniform with a cape. Around his left arm, he wore a black armband with the Tempest logo. Unlike his elite guards, he had a face mask that showed his face very clearly. It was somewhat scarred, but his facial features were still very recognizable. His eyes were bright blue and he had a large and bushy white-haired mustache. His nickname "White Walrus" fitted him well. Despite the fact that he was only in his late fifties, he needed a staff for support while walking. The staff was decorated only with a silver and black emblem of the Tempest on top of it.

Wilhelm now addressed the major with his first name Vincent and gave him permission to stand up. The two of them walked side by side, as Vincent informed his Leader of the progress they were making. Wilhelm was pleased to know that everything was proceeding as scheduled. He then praised Vincent for his results, especially the quick retrieval of the unobtanium cone. Prior to landing, he had been informed by commander Nitschke that the TS-1 orbital weapon system was now fully operational…


	2. The star gun

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

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**The following chapter contains some references to a certain historical regime. I doubt I need to elaborate which regime. These references are intentional and I have put them in because I want to explore certain themes in this story. Despite similarities between this regime and the Tempest on the outside, on a deeper level the Tempest is quite different.**

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**Chapter 2: The star gun**

Major Vincent Lockwood was amazed that the engineers had completed the TS-1 on such a short notice. Wilhelm then pointed out that just because he was the Leader, did not mean that he was the only one of importance. It was his to job to lead, and the rest had the job to follow his orders as best they could. How well they executed these orders depended completely on what kind of people they were and how skilled they were. Vincent, for example, would now go into the history books as the Tempest officer who played a key role in reestablishing a human presence on Pandora. Therefore, it would only be fitting to promote him to the rank of colonel. Colonel Lockwood promptly thanked his Leader for this reward.

Wilhelm was then approached by the head of security, general Yasmin Abrego, who had arrived with him on his personal shuttle and who was now concerned for his safety. He was walking in a wide open space and was completely vulnerable to an attack from above. Wilhelm thought different however. The Na'vi weren't terrorists; they couldn't drop a bomb on him. Yasmin then added that they could throw a spear at him. But Wilhelm still didn't believe he was in any danger. He had faith in his troops and the defensive perimeter they had set up. After all, there were about three hundred people already here, with an additional five hundred on the way. The chance that something would hit him of all people was close to zero.

However, he planned to travel outside of the perimeter to the designated location to personally represent the Tempest in the meeting to set up the truce. When Yasmin looked at him like he had gone insane, he reassured her that he would be taking a platoon of his elite troops with him. He wanted to stand on the frontlines again, just like in the old days. But now, instead of beating up criminals and terrorists with his bare hands, he would be negotiating for peace between two worlds. And if they refused to have a truce, Wilhelm was certain he could intimidate them into reconsidering. In the unlikely event that they would kill him, it would be unfortunate for both parties, because commander Ernst Nitschke had waited his entire adult life to use the TS-1. Wilhelm knew that if Ernst would learn of his death at the hands of the Na'vi, he would not rest until Pandora was ashes.

About half an hour later, Wilhelm and his platoon had gone to the designated area. It was near the old unobtanium mine and just outside of the jungle. They had brought with them several buggies and trucks and a large container with some amenities. They did not know how long it would take for the Na'vi representatives to show up, or how much time would be required for the negotiations. Wilhelm had now taken a seat at a large table outside. A metal dome above the table protected him from aerial attacks, but left him open to ground attacks. About an hour passed before anything noteworthy happened. In the meantime, the recorded message was still being played in the background. Wilhelm was reading his own autobiography, while the platoon guarded him. The troops all wore black military uniforms with face obscuring helmets. They had Tempest emblems on the sides of each shoulder and on their helmets. Their uniforms were not intended for jungle missions. Instead, they were worn to show that the Tempest favored unity and symbolism.

Then, the first pair of Na'vi appeared from the jungle. The troops did not raise their weapons. Wilhelm responded to this sudden development as if an old friend had just come to visit him. He smiled and, in the Na'vi language, invited them to join him at the table. The two Na'vi drew closer, but looked wary. They stopped at the table, but did not sit down, which Wilhelm didn't mind. He then introduced himself and explained that he was the Leader of the human 'warrior clan' known as the Tempest. Formalities aside, they could just refer to him as simply Wilhelm. The two Na'vi, a male and a female introduced themselves as being warriors of the Tipani clan. Wilhelm nodded with a smile and then asked if anyone from the Omaticaya clan would also be joining them. Before he got an answer, though, he noticed several banshees approaching and assumed it was them. There were three in total and they landed some distance away from the Tempest encampment. Wilhelm promptly waved at them and asked them to join in. But the moment he recognized the one up front, his smile instantly vanished from his face. The Na'vi warrior up front also did not look particularly happy.

When all of them had gathered around the table, with Wilhelm being the only one who sat down, there was an eerie silence. Wilhelm was the first to speak. He addressed the Omaticaya leader as Jake Sully, the betrayer and backstabber of humanity. In return, Jake asked him if he was supposed to be some kind of emperor or dictator with his ridiculous white cape and flashy staff. This prompted Wilhelm to tell a short story about the Roman civilization of two thousand years ago. The city of Rome would suspend its democracy and appoint a dictator when its enemies had surrounded the city walls. This dictator had the duty to lead the people during the time of crisis. With all power given to one individual, this person could make decisions quickly and efficiently and thus succeed where a democratic government with its endless discussions among politicians would fail.

Jake did not respond to this, and instead he accused Wilhelm of sending those hostile invading machines to murder his people and to destroy the environment of Pandora. Wilhelm sighed, and explained that only the RDA was to blame for this. The Tempest was a completely separate organization and it had merely bought up their assets. Wilhelm then lamented the fact that at that time he did not yet have enough influence and authority to stop the RDA from sending them. He revealed that he deeply detested the decision they had made, because these machines had killed innocent humans as well.

When he saw Jake glance at his armband with the Tempest logo, he decided to explain what it meant. The black dot in the middle represented the Earth. It was black because it was considered by most to be dying, but at the same time it was also being kept alive by humanity's presence. Hence the lightning sparks emitting from it. The logo represented what humanity had become. There was no denying it; they needed the unobtanium to keep going. But this was who they were now, and they were proud of it.

In contrast to the RDA, the Tempest was willing to treat the Na'vi with respect and offer a formal truce. However, Jake did not want to hear any more of this. He had only one thing to say. He pointed his finger towards the sky and told Wilhelm to leave Pandora now, or he would have to force them leave. Wilhelm sighed again and shook his head. He warned Jake not to compare the Tempest with the RDA. The RDA had been dependent upon good publicity and shareholders. In contrast, the Tempest was funded by the profits of some very clever personal investments Wilhelm himself had made. On top of this, they were supported by the United Nations of Earth. Wilhelm had even convinced them to suspend all extraterrestrial treaties and rights for the duration of the emergency.

Jake had only one question for him. What would keep the Na'vi from fighting back and ultimately driving them off Pandora just like they had done with the RDA? Wilhelm smiled again and admitted he was glad that Jake had brought this up. He then activated the intercom in his breathing mask and told the person on the other side to fire at will and that a three second burst should be enough. Moments later, sirens could be heard coming from Hell's Gate. The transparent faceplate of Wilhelm's mask then became reflective and gold colored. He issued the Na'vi with similar faceplates and insisted they used them. If they didn't, it would be their choice, but at least he had warned them.

Aboard the TS-1 space station, commander Ernst Nitschke had received the order and was rubbing his hands together in excitement. He commanded the gunnery crew via intercom to fire a three second burst at the pre-arranged coordinates. The gunnery crew was located in a room full of screens and terminals. The crew all wore black face-obscuring helmets, which reminded of the hoods of medieval executioners. Once the station and the mirrors had been properly aligned, and all crewmembers had given the ready-signal, chief gunner Pete Mulholland pulled two levers simultaneously to activate the firing system. Moments later, a brightly white beam was emitted from the underside of the space station. It was aimed directly at the surface of Pandora.

The instant it was emitted, it touched the surface. At the site of the meeting, the sky turned white. However, the beam could be seen relatively clearly through the gold colored faceplates. As sudden as it had appeared, it vanished again. Most of the Na'vi that were present had followed Wilhelm's advice. Jake had not. Several seconds after it was over, he lowered his arms and blinked a few times with his eyes. A large cloud of steam could be seen in the distance. Wilhelm assured the Na'vi that the beam had only hit the ocean and that the jungle had remained unharmed. Jake was now fuming with anger. He attempted to attack Wilhelm, but his accompanying Omaticaya warriors managed to restrain him.

Wilhelm then commented that at least the real Na'vi at the meeting were smart enough to understand what the consequences of murdering him would be. As long as he remained alive, he had the ability to control his people and their actions. If he was gone, someone else would take over. This person would certainly not be as tolerating and forgiving as him. Right now, they had a choice. They could either discuss the terms of the truce, or leave. If they left, there would not be a single place on Pandora where they could hide.

Eventually, Jake managed to calm down as he began to realize what the Tempest could do to Pandora with a weapon like this. He even took a seat at the table. Soon, the other Na'vi joined him. It didn't take long before the Tempest and the Na'vi had negotiated several agreements. The Tempest and the Na'vi would not start a war if the following conditions were met: The Tempest was allowed to take control of all former RDA locations and facilities or what was left of them. Rebuilding was allowed at these locations. Construction of new facilities was only allowed to take place in designated mining areas. The designated mining areas consisted of the deposits near Hell's Gate and the deposits at the site of the former Hometree of the Omaticaya. However, at this latter site, mining was only allowed to take place underground. The surface was not allowed to be disturbed under any condition. On top of that, personnel of the Tempest was not allowed anywhere within 15 kilometers of Na'vi villages or sacred sites, including the Tree of Souls and the Hallelujah Mountains area. Surveillance of these locations from a distance was also forbidden. However, these last two conditions also applied the other way around, to the Na'vi. Furthermore, the human population limit was not allowed to exceed two-thousand. The Na'vi in turn were not allowed to gather an army larger than two-thousand warriors in any location. A special condition was that if members of either faction came within 15 kilometers of the other faction's territory, the offending members did not officially belong to their factions anymore, and were not protected by the truce. The same was true if these members were to fly over these territories. So technically, if these members were then captured or killed while still in the danger zone, it was their own fault for being there, and the truce would not be considered violated by both factions.

Lastly, Jake reminded Wilhelm that they would consider any stray Avatars to be personnel of the Tempest and thus they would be killed if they crossed into Na'vi territory. Wilhelm suddenly burst out in laughter and told him he didn't have to worry about that. He then explained that the Avatar program had been banned the moment the United Nations had learned that the Avatars had played an important part in the RDA's exile from Pandora. So in a sense Jake had had a part in making sure no more Avatars would ever be created.

The meeting was finally concluded by Wilhelm, who printed out a copy of the written down terms of the truce and handed it to Jake. He told him that he expected that Jake would spread it orally to the rest of the Na'vi clans. When he held up his hand, Jake reluctantly shook it, before leaving with the others.

The next day, Wilhelm had called for a special session of congress. Aboard the TS-1 space station, a large room was now filled with the members of the UN council, plus Wilhelm and his most senior commanders. Since the station was rotating continuously, it looked as though they were actually on a planet with gravity. Wilhelm and his commanders were seated at a raised table opposite the rest of the room. A black flag with a giant Tempest logo hung behind Wilhelm as he spoke. He now informed the council that a truce had been formed with the Na'vi. The primary Na'vi negotiator had been Jake Sully. When he said the name, gasps and mumbling could be heard coming from the council members. Wilhelm continued by saying that this was a good thing. Because of Sully's history with the Na'vi, it was very likely that every clan would be convinced by his words.

When his speech had ended, the chairman of the council commended Wilhelm on his achievements. The operations on Pandora could now finally resume. Not a single drop of blood had been spilled. The chairman then held up his arm stretched out above his head and uttered the Latin phrase "Humanitas summum" the translation of which was "Humanity supreme". Wilhelm now did the same, followed by the Tempest commanders and the other council members…

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**Note: Jake Sully will not appear in this story as a main character, because I do not like writing canon characters. Instead, the Na'vi side of the story will focus on the Na'vi characters from "The Invasion".**


	3. The temple

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

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**If you like this story, don't feel shy to submit a review. Your opinions and input are always welcome.**

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**Chapter 3: The temple**

Far away from Hell's Gate and the Tempest, a small Na'vi clan known as the Uvora clan resided peacefully at an ancient site. This clan had been nearly wiped out during the struggle against the invading machines. Originally, the clan had consisted of nearly two hundred members spread over two separate villages. Now, there were less than twenty members left. After the victory, the clan had been expanded with one additional member. This was former human and Avatar driver John Simons.

The clan now resided at a location that wasn't in their original ancestral homelands. It also wasn't a conventional Na'vi village. After the defeat of the invading machines about a year ago, the clan had followed a trail of signs which Tsahìk Elynin believed had been given by Eywa. The trail had led them to a stone complex of some kind. It was partially located underground and had been mostly overgrown by various plants, making it look organic and natural on the outside. One wouldn't take real notice of it, if one wasn't searching for anything specific. On the inside, however, its walls were rigid and multiple corridors and chambers could be distinguished. Nobody knew what it was, because such a thing was not described in the oral history of the Na'vi. An even bigger mystery was who had built it. However, John, who had basic knowledge of human cultural history, interpreted the stone complex as being some kind of temple. But he was neither an archeologist nor a Na'vi cultural expert and thus he could only make guesses.

For the Uvora clan, a normal day like any other had just begun. John had quietly awoken in his hammock a moment ago. Through the threads of the hammock, he could see some of the clan's children playing down below. They were up early as usual. He could also see the brightly shining sun attempting to penetrate the thick canopy of leaves above him. John then turned around to lie on his other side and put his arm around his mate Ney'ite. She was apparently also awake, and turned around to face him. They then put their faces together for a moment, while John carefully placed his hand on her bulged belly. Ney'ite was certain that they would be having a daughter soon. But John did not agree with her. He believed that their first child would be a boy.

When John and Ney'ite joined the rest of the clan for the morning meal, John noticed that the clan's best hunter Selyat was still there. Normally, she left the village early in the morning to go hunting. John asked her what was wrong, and Selyat explained that Hatuyo thought he could hunt just as well as her. The boy was eager to learn, but Selyat was certain he wasn't ready yet. She had decided to let him realize this on his own, before she would go and help him. John quietly hoped that his own son would turn out to be a little less rash than Hatuyo.

After having finished his meal, John decided to go look for the clan elder, Onorak. John had a feeling where he might have disappeared to yet again. Even though their clan lived near the temple, they did not actually use it in daily clan life, simply because it was too alien. Nevertheless, Olo'eyktan Wukan and Tsahìk Elynin had both agreed it was Eywa's will that they remained here to learn more about it. John knew that Onorak was more interested in discovering its secrets than anyone else in their clan, more than even John himself. He was even becoming obsessed about it lately. Perhaps the reason for this was that Onorak had lived nearly his entire life without ever knowing that such a thing had even existed. The fact that it existed meant that the knowledge of it had been previously lost. Maybe Onorak was beginning to see this as a flaw of the Na'vi culture, especially after the invaders had awakened the mysterious entity, which seemed to be somehow connected to this ancient site.

John now entered the chamber in the temple where Onorak was sitting on the ground. There were several slits in the ceiling, which channeled sunlight onto a single section of the walls. John sat down beside him and asked if he had discovered anything new. Onorak did not say anything, and simply continued to stare at the highlighted stone wall, which had carved depictions of Na'vi warriors, the mysterious entity, and some kind of barrier between the two. John then told him, as he had done on many occasions, that he believed this temple was some kind of defensive weapon against the entity. He also believed that Eywa had led their clan here because it was their destiny to defeat the entity. Onorak then spoke for the first time since John had entered the chamber. He told John calmly but firmly to be silent. Respectfully, John complied, but he did not stop thinking about his theories.

Wanting to refresh his memory, John tried to sum up in his head all information they had collected about the entity and the ancient structures. MT-NET, the A.I. mainframe that had controlled the machines, had used the shuttle it had arrived in to travel to one of the other moons of Polyphemus. On this moon, which was nicknamed Shadow, there were large amounts of minable Uranium. MT-NET had intended to utilize the Uranium to build nuclear weapons. While exploring the moon, MT-NET had discovered something else entirely. In a cave, it had found a wall with carvings, much like the wall in their temple. The wall on Shadow depicted two opposing entities, one that seemed to represent Eywa, and another that represented something unknown. This other entity was depicted using zigzagging lines. It looked like a snake with a dog-like head. This same depiction was also carved into the wall in their temple. Since Eywa and the other entity seemed to be opposing each other, John had theorized that because Eywa sought to protect the balance of life, the other one might seek to disrupt it.

MT-NET's machines had then excavated the wall and had brought it to Pandora. The wall itself had most likely been a hiding place for the unknown entity, because after it had been brought here, the Na'vi and John himself began to have strange dreams. In most of the dreams, a strange grey cloud appeared in various situations. The zigzagging lines of the depictions had probably been used to suggest the fact that its body was always in motion. John had had a recurring dream in which the grey cloud appeared after he saw an unknown man who was exceptionally tall and whose face reminded him of a walrus. The dreams had all stopped after MT-NET had been destroyed. Around the time of MT-NET's destruction, the grey cloud entity had appeared for real for the first time. What exactly happened that day was still a complete mystery to John as well as the Na'vi. The grey cloud had begun to shrink, while at the same time a second one had formed out of nowhere. The second one had kept growing until the first one had completely faded away. The remaining grey cloud had then become unstable, like some kind of thunderstorm. It had subsequently split into two halves, a white cloud and a pitch-black cloud. The white one had gone up into the sky and had eventually disappeared into space. The other one, however, had shot into the distance, but did not seem to have left Pandora at that time. In any case, both of them had not been seen since that day.

John could theorize and guess all he wanted, but that didn't help to piece all of this together. The search for answers had now been stalled for almost a year. John had given up hope that real answers would be provided any time soon. Perhaps Eywa believed the time wasn't right yet…

Somewhere above the jungle, far away from the Uvora clan, a familiar model Samson gunship was scouting the area. It was colored black and had several Tempest logos painted on its hull, most notably a big one on its underside. Its crew consisted of the pilot and two door gunners. The gunners were Ralf and Charlie, while the pilot was a woman named Tania. Ralf and Charlie were now debating whether or not having a truce with the Na'vi was a good thing. Remarkably, they soon agreed with each other. Both were of the opinion that having the truce was a bad thing, because it would severely limit the amount of action they would be seeing. Tania expressed her belief that there had to be something wrong with them. During the entire time the three of them had served together, Tania had never witnessed Ralf and Charlie agreeing on anything they discussed. She then sarcastically told them to check their masks, because they might be getting high on a bit too much Pandoran air. A now grumpy Ralf told her to focus on flying, since he didn't want to crash and be forced camp in the middle of the jungle for the night.

But Tania continued the conversation by pointing out that there were many other ways of 'seeing some action'. To tease them, she told them that when she was off duty, she would often practice kung fu moves in her quarters while being completely nude. Both Ralf's and Charlie's heads instantly turned into her direction. Charlie tried to sound as casual as possible while mentioning that he was a big fan of kung fu and that he was really interested in seeing her moves. This immediately earned him a slap on the back of the head by Ralf. A smiling Tania then revealed that this was not the only thing she liked to do in her spare time. She also liked to fantasize about Ralf and Charlie French kissing each other. Both of the men were now making faces as if they were about to puke. In an even grumpier tone than before, Ralf then told her to focus on her flying, or they might end up dangling from a tree.

However, there wasn't any more time for bullshitting. The main base had contacted them via radio and informed them of a bogey moving south-south-east towards their position. When Tania asked for clarifications, it was revealed that the bogey was a ground vehicle, which did not respond to radio. It was very likely that this was one of the remaining machine units. They were instructed to investigate, and engage and destroy if it was indeed one of them. Tania promptly steered the Samson into a new course to intercept. Soon, Charlie reported that he had visual contact. Down below in the jungle, glimpses of a buggy heading towards them could be seen. The vehicle was also clearly audible. Judging by the sound of its engine, Ralf concluded that they didn't make vehicles like that anymore. To him, it sounded like an old fashioned gasoline powered V8. Charlie fired several short bursts with the door gun at the buggy, but it just continued moving at full speed. Whoever was behind the wheel, man or machine, was driving like a lunatic. At that speed, dodging trees and other jungle obstacles was very hard without rolling over. When the buggy was about to pass underneath the Samson, Tania flew a wide circle to turn around so that they could continue to pursue it.

When the buggy was in range again, both Ralf and Charlie fired their door guns. Their target was hit multiple times, but it just didn't slow down. Since only glimpses of it could be seen because of the jungle canopy, it was hard to determine the amount of damage they were dealing. To bring an end to the chase, Tania fired a missile at a few trees in the buggy's path. The explosion and resulting debris were enough to confuse the driver, which caused the buggy to go rolling. It eventually landed upside down and caught fire. Ralf then cursed because in his opinion it was a shame that such a classic vehicle had been wasted.

Now all they had to do was investigate. Tania landed the Samson in a relatively open spot in the jungle. Ralf and Charlie took out their personal weapons, jumped out of the Samson, and headed towards the crash site. They could already see someone stumbling out of the wreck. It was clearly a human, as he was bleeding. He did not seem to have any major injuries though. Ralf held him at gunpoint, while Charlie inspected the wreck for additional passengers. The man now spoke, and told Charlie not to waste his time, since he had been the only one in the vehicle. Ralf then demanded to know who he was. The man claimed that he was Mark Dodgson, the last living member of the RDA on Pandora. His clothes and hair were filthy. He also wore a black eye patch and an improvised breathing mask that covered only his nose and mouth. Despite the fact that he had just crashed and was now being held at gunpoint, Mark remained almost unnaturally calm. When Charlie had confirmed that there was indeed no one else in the wreck, they arrested Mark on suspicion of being allied to either the Na'vi or the machines. After having bound his hands, they escorted him back to the Samson.

A few hours later, the captive had been brought back to Hell's Gate. One of the Tempest containers was equipped with several holding cells and an interrogation room, which were intended for cases such as this one. Colonel Vincent Lockwood was now seated opposite Mark, with two guards with black face-obscuring helmets standing near the door. The colonel had been given Mark's RDA personnel file with a picture and fingerprints that confirmed his identity. He was indeed Mark Dodgson, one of the chief mechanical engineers who had been stationed on Pandora in 2154. After the exile of the RDA, he had been categorized as being missing in action. A report filed by the team that had captured him lay beside the personnel file. Lockwood, who was scratching his bald head, asked Mark if he had indeed been speeding through the jungle in a buggy. Mark nodded and calmly added that a thanator had started to chase him while he had been hunting for food. Lockwood then pointed out that the team had not found any indication of said thanator. For a moment, Mark remained quiet. Then, he stated in an indifferent tone that the detonation of the missile had probably scared it away.

The subject was then changed to answer the question of how he had survived for eight years without support from Earth. He claimed that he lived in an RDA outpost on the far side of the old unobtanium mine and that he went out to hunt for food every week. He then claimed that there were large amounts of research data still located there, which would be vital in cheapening and simplifying the process of creating new bodies for the Avatar program. The colonel then informed him that the Avatar program had been banned, but that the data was valuable nonetheless. Mark then asked to be released in exchange for providing this information, but the colonel shook his head. First they had to actually verify his claims before he could even consider such a thing. However, trying to bribe captors with providing information was not something a truly innocent man would do. For all they knew, Mark could be gathering information on the Tempest for the remaining A.I. machine units, or maybe even the Na'vi. Mark did not respond to this statement.

The colonel now boldly admitted that when he looked into Mark's remaining eye, all he could see was a soulless monster. Mark now slammed his fist on the table and shouted that he was not a machine. This caused the guards to approach and restrain him. Lockwood then told him that one didn't have to be a machine to be a soulless monster. He had seen and interrogated many human criminals and terrorists in his day and admitted that he believed Mark would go after him with an axe if given the opportunity. Lockwood then pointed out that it was certainly curious Mark would make a connection between being a soulless monster and a human looking machine.

Then, Lockwood firmly asked him what he had really been doing before speeding away in such a hurry. Laughing, Mark told him he had been rushing towards that brand new shop in town to buy some of those new popular axes before they were all sold out. In return, he was punched in the face by one of the guards. Mark then unexpectedly changed his attitude. He told the colonel that right now there were two worlds dominated by two different sapient species. Neither of them had a clue of what was beyond their worlds. According to him, in twenty years, their civilizations would be gone. All of it would be ashes. Millions of skulls would be piled up. He would be the last human remaining. And MT-NET would have risen again to claim the position of god. When he finished the sentence, the guards grabbed him. Lockwood nodded calmly, and made an interim conclusion that Mark was insane with delusions of grandeur and hatred of humanity. It was also clear that he admired the MT-NET system and its machines, and that he was possibly working for them. In any case, a more thorough psychological analysis and interrogation were definitely required. Lockwood then told the guards to take Mark back to his holding cell so that he could cool down for a while…


	4. The black dot

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

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**Chapter 4: The black dot**

After colonel Lockwood's initial interview of Mark Dodgson, several specialists had interrogated Mark more thoroughly. They had eventually reached the same conclusions as the colonel had. Their explanation for his outrageous predictions of the future was that he had been exposed to the influence and philosophy of MT-NET for too long. During all sessions, Mark had still refused to tell them where he had been speeding from, or what he had been doing there. Since he had been deemed mentally unstable, general Yasmin Abrego had decided that the prisoner would be moved away from Pandora. The Leader had given the orders to convert the dilapidated mining facility on the moon Shadow to a secured complex. The Tempest planned to use this complex to lock away potentially dangerous individuals or objects, which could still provide usable information. This was all part of Wilhelm's grand vision to turn the new base on Pandora into a utopian paradise of human colonization.

To gain more information on the Mark Dodgson case, some of his less outrageous claims had been checked for truth. The outpost he had supposedly survived in had been found. However, according to various video logs, its only users after the RDA's defeat had been Gerald Hamilton, who had died in 2160, and John Simons, who seemed to have stopped using the facility in 2161. Most of the research data under Hamilton's name did indeed concern what Mark had described. After the defeat of the RDA, Hamilton had independently created viable embryos for Avatar bodies for the two of them. This could be considered a major scientific breakthrough considering the limited resources Hamilton had used. Despite the fact that the Avatar program was now banned, the Tempest took great care to collect and analyze all data.

The video logs did not indicate what had happened to Simons, but they seemed to suggest he had been planning to ally himself with the Na'vi. Whether he had been in contact with the MT-NET system and its machines was unknown. In any case, no data at the outpost indicated that Mark Dodgson had lived there. This was why the area where Mark had been speeding away from had also been searched thoroughly. Not long after, a hidden facility in a cave had been found. The base had been built on the ground level into the side of a tall and steep mountain ridge. The Hallelujah Mountains were located on the other side of said ridge. It was clear that the base had been constructed by MT-NET, as no RDA blueprints for it existed. However, upon exploring the base, the Tempest concluded that it had been deserted. What they did find was a badly damaged magnetic reactor for generating electrical power. It had been built over a wide hole in the ground. The hole was only two meters deep, but it looked like it had been a lot deeper in the past. It had been partially filled with rocks and sand. The reactor seemed to have been built here deliberately. Its proximity to the magnetic influences of the Flux Vortex suggested this. Whatever had happened in this place was a mystery, for all computer hardware had either been removed or destroyed.

The young doctor Paul Nitschke, son of commander Ernst Nitschke, was especially interested in this place, because it provided a unique environment to study the kind of geologic magnetism that did not exist on Earth. This location might help them to eventually find a practical application for the Flux Vortex. Since the base was located far away from any Na'vi contact, rebuilding it would not be an issue.

And so the Tempest continued to strengthen its presence on Pandora. All nearby Na'vi clans soon realized that as long as they did not bother the new intruders, they would be left alone. Most of them considered this to be much better than a full scale war. The territories that now belonged to the intruders according to the truce had been spoiled already anyway. As long as the Tempest did not violate the terms, the impact on the environment would be minimal…

2171, nine years later

Somewhere in one of Earth's largest cities, a bus had just come to a halt near an apartment building. It was equipped with orange flashing lights on its roof and bars in front of all its windows. One could mistake it for a prisoner bus, were it not for the fact that it was painted yellow, indicating it was a school bus. These precautions had not been taken to keep anyone in; they were meant to protect the children from outside threats. One of the doors of the bus now opened. A man wearing a black military uniform was the first to step out of the vehicle. There was a logo of the Tempest on his helmet and two more on the sides of each shoulder. The visor of his helmet was transparent, so that his face could be seen. Once the man had exited the bus, he looked around for a moment and finally gave a hand signal. A scrawny girl with pale skin and blond hair, who was about ten years old, now exited the bus. She was dressed in a school uniform, which was colored white and dark green. The man now escorted her to the front door of the apartment building, which was about seven meters away. Once there, the man gave a hand signal to the security guard sitting behind the desk inside. The guard recognized them and remotely unlocked the door. While the man of the Tempest held the door open for the girl, she thanked him and told him that she would see him next Monday. The man nodded with a friendly look on his face and closed the door behind her. Once he heard the electronic lock being engaged, the man returned to the bus.

The girl greeted the security guard as she walked past the desk towards the elevators. The guard admitted his concern that she hadn't been wearing her exopack outside, but the girl insisted that she was fine. It had only been for a couple of seconds and she had held her breath until she had come inside. After spending about a minute in one of the elevators, she stepped out at the forty-second floor. There, she walked through the hallway until she reached number 42-08. She inserted a card into a reader next to the front door and subsequently entered a code. The door promptly opened and she quickly went inside and locked it. Although there was nobody home, she asked for the lights to turn on, which they promptly did. She then threw her schoolbag into a corner and went to the kitchen to get something to drink. The apartment consisted of four rooms: a living room with a kitchen, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. It was one of the more luxurious apartments in this neighborhood. The girl lived here together only with her father, who was currently still at work.

Now, the girl let herself drop onto the couch near the largest window of the apartment. She looked outside and could see several neighboring buildings. In the distance there were a few towers that periodically released large flames from their tops. The few visible sections of the sky had a brownish color. A flying car of the Tempest, with red flashing lights on its roof and several search lights on its underside, was making its usual patrol through the neighborhood. The girl then noticed an airship hovering nearby. One side was covered with multiple large screens, with each one displaying something different. The first screen displayed an endless supply of commercials. The second one displayed a news broadcast of an ongoing war in some far away country. The third one displayed a logo of the Tempest, while the forth one displayed a video of the surface of Pandora. She kept watching the fourth screen for a bit longer, intrigued by the alien landscapes and the strange colors. Several seconds later, however, the landscapes were replaced by a recorded interview with the Tempest head of security on Pandora.

Bored, she turned around and asked for the TV to turn on. One of the walls of the living room of the apartment promptly lit up and began displaying more commercials. The girl sat down on the other couch, which stood directly in front of the TV wall, and used a remote to zap through the channels. She skipped over several kids channels, which broadcasted only the worst quality of cartoons in her opinion. Eventually, she reached a history channel. This channel was currently broadcasting a very old video of a boxing match. One of the competitors currently in the ring was Wilhelm Torr or the White Walrus as he kept being referred to. The girl knew who this person was, even though she had never met him. She had been taught in school that this man was the Leader of the Tempest, who had gone to Pandora years ago. His twin sons Norman and Oswald Torr had been appointed as the Leaders of the Tempest on Earth. Despite this, the girl had seen Wilhelm on TV many times. This was because some channels loved to rerun old broadcasts of speeches Wilhelm had once given about the future of humanity.

But the girl didn't really care to find out if Wilhelm had won this particular boxing match. She switched off the TV and thought about what she could do now to avoid boredom. She considered playing videogames to be a bit childish. The girl now looked at the desk in the living room on which a monitor and a keyboard were placed. Their home computer had a startup problem and her father hadn't had time to get it fixed. She decided she would give it a try.

Both school and her father had taught her many things about technology, but nothing like the things required to fix the computer. Even though she didn't really know what she was doing, she somehow had a feeling that she knew what was causing the problem. The girl now plugged in one of the memory cards, which was lying on the desk, and switched on the computer. It started up in a special mode without a graphical interface. There were only a few words on the screen, which were followed by a blinking cursor. She began to type in some words, though she didn't really think about what she was typing; she only thought about what she wanted to do, while her hands just did the rest. Every time she typed in a command and hit enter, a text message appeared on the screen, which was a clue to the next step she needed to take. After about a minute, however, she suddenly stalled and didn't know what to do now. She realized that she shouldn't have done anything in the first place as she had probably made it worse than it had been before. This realization made her nervous and she hoped her father would not find out about it.

Half an hour later, her father finally opened the front door. He was wearing a standard black Tempest military uniform. Nevertheless, he held the rank of major. After announcing that he was home, he saw his daughter sitting at the dinner table, making a drawing. When she saw him, she immediately got up and ran straight towards him to hug him. Then, she revealed she had punched a bully at school today. Her father frowned for a second, but the girl quickly explained that this one boy had been annoying her all week and that he had been the one to start the fight. With one of the teachers present, they had later talked about it and had apologized to each other. Her father nodded in approval, and reminded her that problems between two people could only be solved by talking, and that violence should only be used in defense and as a last resort when the other person refused to talk or listen. However, he did praise her for standing up for herself. He was also interested in knowing just how strong his daughter had become. This was why he held up the palm of his hand and asked her to punch his hand as hard as she could. She promptly did so and when she hit his hand, he clumsily stumbled a bit backward. Knowing he was just pretending, the girl giggled at her father's silliness.

A moment later, they went to the dinner table together, while her father asked her what she had been drawing. She told him she was drawing a forest of Pandora and that she was making it for him. Smiling, her father told her that this was very sweet of her and that he would hang it on one of the walls in the living room once she had finished it. While his daughter completed the drawing, he put two standard prefabricated meals in the microwave oven and turned it on. He now decided to take a look at their home computer. She noticed this, and started to get nervous again. However, she was surprised when her father promptly informed her that it was working again. She quickly turned around and could see the graphical interface again. The names of its two users were now being displayed on the screen. The first was Derek Nettleton, the second was Manja Nettleton.

That night, Manja had a nightmare, which seemed to go on forever. She was on Pandora, but something not right. She wasn't really herself. She was floating, and even though she could move, she could only do so by flying. However, she wasn't flying using wings; to her it felt like she was slithering like a snake through the air, because she didn't have any limbs. Wherever she went, there were more trees. When she finally reached a lake of some kind, she looked into the water to see her reflection, but only a formless stain could be seen.

At this instant, she realized she was lying in her own bed. Her heart was pounding. She now sat upright in bed and carefully looked around. Her nightlight dimly lit the room, and there was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen. Manja looked at her hands to confirm if they were really there. Then, she threw the blanket aside, and looked at her bare feet. She was really glad she was still in one piece. Manja tried for a moment to get back to sleep again, but she felt scared and lonely. This was why she got up out of her bed and went to her father's bedroom. There, she crawled up beside him and pulled his left arm over her shoulder. Even though he was in an apparently deep sleep, she felt a lot safer. It didn't take long for her now to fall asleep.

Manja did not have any more nightmares that night. She finally awoke when she heard her father closing the door of the closet a little too loudly. Derek realized he had awoken her when he heard her comment on the sudden loud noise. He apologized and told her good morning. Manja then began to explain why she hadn't slept in her own bed, mentioning that she had had a bad dream. Her father told her she didn't have to explain anything and that it was alright. Manja looked at her father for a moment, and then asked him why he was wearing his officer's uniform on a Saturday. Derek was wearing a beige suit with his rank insignia on the shoulders and all his military awards and decorations pinned to his chest. He also wore a peaked cap on his head and a black armband with the logo of the Tempest on his left arm. Derek explained that today he would be having a very special meeting concerning his reassignment to a different location. Manja sighed when he said this, since it most certainly meant they had to move to another city yet again. But Derek revealed that this new location was nothing like anywhere they had ever been before. Also, all children she knew from her school would be moving to this new location as well, since their parents, who were all members of the Tempest, had also been selected for the same reassignment. When Manja asked where this new location was, her father revealed that they were going to Pandora…


	5. A new world

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: A new world**

2178, seven years later

Manja opened her eyes and all she could see was a patterned surface and a blue light. She felt dizzy in her head, and it took her several seconds to remember where she was. When she tried to move, she realized she was still strapped in. Nevertheless, she could move her arms and her head very easily, since there wasn't any gravity. A moment later, her cryosleep chamber opened itself, and she could now see the structure of the rest of the cryo compartment. To her right was her father, who was also still strapped in. He stretched out his arm, although he couldn't reach her, and asked if she was feeling alright. Manja nodded, but she noticed that her father was looking kind of pale.

After one of the crewmembers had checked on them, and unfastened them, Derek immediately grabbed one of the provided bags and threw up into it. He then asked Manja if she remembered where their lockers were. Manja nodded again. She remembered it from the training they had received just before they had gone into cryosleep. It was one of many procedures that had been explained to them. Derek then instructed her to hold onto him, while he would steer them towards the lockers. But Manja believed she could get there on her own. She told him she wasn't a baby anymore. A moment later, she was floating carefully towards the lockers. Once there, she grabbed hold of the handrail and could see a locker with the tag "D. Nettleton". Beside it was her own locker. Whoever had made the tags had been aware of her middle name Tyra, because the tag read "M. T. Nettleton".

Shortly thereafter, they had changed into their issued uniforms. Derek and Manja, together with the rest of the passengers, then made their way towards one of the shuttles. After they had been strapped in, the shuttle began entering the atmosphere of Pandora. Manja wasn't scared at all. She had once traveled to the Earth's moon and back with her father. What they were experiencing now was pretty much comparable to the reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Instead of the reentry, there was something else occupying her.

During their training on Earth, her father had revealed to her that the reason all children from her school were going to Pandora was not because their parents had been selected. The real reason was that the children themselves had been selected. Her father had then told her that she and all the other selected children were extremely special. He had repeated multiple times that they were the future. Manja initially didn't understand what was so special about them, until that one particular test had taken place. After several medical examinations, all children of eight years and older had been led to a special chamber with various toys, drawing materials and game computers. They had been told that while they would be playing with whatever they wanted, the air inside the chamber would be changed. This was a test to see how well they could function in such conditions. The fact that their parents had been visible the entire time through various windows had reassured most of them. During the test, the only noteworthy things Manja had experienced were the sounds of fans blowing and a strange smell. After about half an hour, the air had been changed again and the smell had disappeared. Afterwards, they had been told that they could successfully survive in the atmosphere of Pandora without the use of an exopack.

Right now, the shuttle was about to land. Despite their unique ability, the children had still been issued exopacks, just like their parents and the rest of the personnel who couldn't survive without them. Derek explained to Manja that not everyone might know about their ability. In order not to upset anyone, they had to wear the exopacks for now just like everyone else. The Leader would formally announce it to the rest of the personnel in his welcoming speech.

After the shuttle had touched down and the cargo door had opened, all of the new personnel moved quickly towards the main base entrance. Manja didn't have much time to look around. She could see however, that there were several large grey buildings nearby. Also, several towers which periodically released large flames could be seen. It didn't look that different compared to Earth, except that the sky was a lot brighter and clearer. Once inside the building, they were led into a large chamber with many seats. The children were instructed to sit in the rows up front, while the rest of the new personnel would be seated behind them. Manja was a bit nervous about all of this. They were seated only a few meters away from the stage and the speech table. A large black banner with the logo of the Tempest hung on the wall behind the speech table. The Leader himself would be giving a speech only a few minutes from now.

When all new staff members were seated, the most senior commanders and officers of the base then joined them. They took the remaining seats located on each side of the stage. One of the commanders, who introduced herself as Yasmin Abrego, then announced the entrance of the Leader of the Tempest, Wilhelm Torr. Everyone in the chamber immediately stood up. A piece of classical music began playing through the many speakers in the chamber. Seconds later, a special set of doors opened and he finally appeared. He was seated in a wheelchair and had what appeared to be plastic tubes running from behind his ears to his nose. Several people dressed in white robes walked behind him, while he used a control stick to drive the wheelchair up a ramp and onto the stage. Once he had stopped behind the speech table, the people who had been following him, helped him stand up and secured his back and leg braces, which allowed him to stand on his own. Now that he was standing up straight, Manja could see that he was at least a full head taller than the people who had assisted him.

When his assistants had left the stage, all the people in the chamber sat down again. Wilhelm then began speaking. First of all, he welcomed them to what was going to be their new home for many years to come. Secondly, he reminded everyone that they were here to serve the rest of humanity; they were here to make sure the human race could continue its way of life. In return for this honorable task, they were allowed to live here, in the utopian society the Tempest had created. Wilhelm assured them that what they had seen of the base when they had landed was only the industrial section. He revealed that most of the people here called the base the "Gate to Paradise".

Then, he tilted his head down to face the children seated in the front rows. Manja thought that he was now looking directly at her, and tried to remain as calm as possible. His bright blue eyes, walrus mustache, and height were the only things he had in common with his past self, which Manja still remembered from the old TV broadcasts. There was hardly anything left of his muscled physique. His face had become thin and sunken. The black armband with the Tempest logo, which had once barely fitted around his muscled arm, was now somewhat rumpled. It was as if beneath the sleeve, there was only a bone left. And when he gestured with his hands, Manja could see that they were almost constantly shaking.

While he was still looking at Manja, Wilhelm continued his speech by introducing the children. He called them the solution to one of the largest obstacles mankind was facing here on this world. They were the ones that would eventually make every other human here obsolete, including himself. They were the answer to the question of how to interact with the environment of Pandora, without having to violate the Tempest code of honor. They could breathe the atmosphere of Pandora and function just fine. Wilhelm concluded his speech by declaring that they were the future.

After a standing ovation, Wilhelm left the stage, and Yasmin Abrego began speaking again. She started explaining a few more practical matters, such as security measurements and the layout of the base. Manja wasn't paying full attention to what was being said, since she was eager to see where she was going to live from now on. Soon the speech was over and Manja could return to her father. Together, they moved along with the rest of the newly arrived personnel towards the crew quarters.

Their new home was a bit more cramped than their apartment on Earth had been. However, it looked and smelled brand new, as if the interior had just rolled out of a factory. The new apartment had a living room with a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. This apartment was just one of many, which had their front doors all connected to a main corridor. This main corridor led to two distinct sections of the base. The first was the security and industrial section, from which they had come. The other section was the residential and commercial section. Aside from the apartments, there were also several additional amenities in this second section. There were restaurants, shops, a recreation hall, a cinema, an outdoor training course, a domed indoor park with Earth trees and plants, and a domed indoor lake with a beach.

Several hours later, after they had had the chance to settle in, Derek was called in for a briefing on his new assignment. He told Manja that she could go and explore the base on her own if she wanted. There was no way to get lost, since the entire base had people and surveillance cameras everywhere. Also, if she would get near a restricted section, the nearby guards would notify her. However, she didn't have to go anywhere if she didn't want to. She was free to do whatever she wanted today.

When her father had left, Manja decided that she wouldn't let this chance go to waste. She followed the main corridor towards the busy central plaza of the commercial center, where she found a helpdesk terminal with a touchscreen. It could be used to find any location in the base. She selected the indoor park dome, and was promptly given a 3D rendering of the route she had to take to get there. Both the 2D and 3D versions of the route were then automatically downloaded onto her pocket computer. All she had to do now was follow the arrows on the screen until she had reached her destination.

But before she got there, she ran into a group of her schoolmates. They were apparently led by Thomas, the boy Manja had punched at school back on Earth. He tried to sound as tough as possible when he asked her to come with them to the outdoor training course. According to him, it was only for the bravest and most skilled people. At first, Manja wanted to say no to him, but she stopped herself before actually saying it. She didn't want to give Thomas a reason to brand her as a coward. Therefore, she decided to join the group.

Several minutes later, they arrived at an airlock. All of them dared to go inside without an exopack. Then, the Pandoran air began flowing into the chamber. Manja now experienced that strange smell again. It was not a foul smell, but it also wasn't exactly perfume-like. She didn't know of anything else that smelled like this. However, she remembered from the training that the smell became less noticeable, the longer she breathed this air. Seconds later, the outer doors opened and they could finally venture outside. The sky was a bit clouded, but the sun shone brightly nonetheless. Up ahead were several wooden obstacles, just like a regular obstacle course on Earth would have. However, Thomas noticed something the others initially did not. He pointed at a small hut atop several wooden poles with a rope ladder leading down. At the base of the small tower, someone or something was seated. The others now looked in awe. Thomas decided to move in closer, and the rest of the group followed. Manja was curious as well. A moment later, someone asked Thomas if the creature was an Avatar. Thomas immediately ridiculed the suggestion and pointed out that those had been banned a long time ago. He then revealed that he believed this creature was an actual Na'vi. He also assumed it had been captured by the Tempest.

Manja had once seen pictures of actual Na'vi. Aside from having blue striped skin and four fingers on each hand, this one looked somewhat different. First of all, it was only a child. Despite this, it would probably still be taller than the Leader if it was standing up. Manja thought it was a girl, but she found it difficult to say for absolutely certain. Unlike regular Na'vi, this girl wore human-like clothing: a t-shirt, shorts, and large boots. The Na'vi girl hadn't noticed them yet, because she had her eyes closed. It looked like she was taking a nap, while sitting on the ground and leaning with her back against a wooden pole. Thomas then searched the ground near him and picked up a small rock. While calling it a little present from the Tempest, he threw the rock into the direction of the Na'vi girl. It hit her in the chest and woke her up with a shock. She quickly looked around and spotted the group. Thomas then threw another rock, but she managed to dodge it this time. The others now began doing the same thing as Thomas. The only one that didn't do anything was Manja. The Na'vi girl dodged a few more rocks, but then decided to climb up the rope ladder towards the hut. Once inside, she shut the door and windows with several loud thuds. After at least a dozen more rocks had been thrown against the hut, Manja asked Thomas if that was his idea of 'bravery'. Thomas merely responded by holding his arm stretched out above his head while uttering the phrase "Humanitas summum".

Somewhere inside the base, a group of Tempest officers had gathered in a conference room. Derek Nettleton was among them. General Yasmin Abrego was explaining the history of one of the Tempest's finest officers: colonel Vincent Lockwood. She mentioned several highlights of his career, such as when he had joined the Tempest, and the important missions he had completed on Earth. During his time with the Tempest, Lockwood had rapidly advanced through the ranks, most importantly because he had always shown devotion and great wisdom. He had even become the favorite officer of the Leader himself, which was why most people had expected him to be quickly promoted to general. There had even been a rumor circulating that the Leader had chosen Lockwood as his eventual successor. However, Lockwood had never gotten the promotion.

After his successful mission to retrieve an unobtanium cone for completing the TS-1, his ideas and methods had begun to deviate. Eventually, they had become morally questionable. He had suggested multiple times to conduct missions that either violated the Tempest code of honor or the truce with the Na'vi. But before Lockwood could be removed from his position, he had gone rogue. The original team he had commanded during his first mission on Pandora had then joined him. Together, they had stolen several vehicles, mobile outpost sections, and other resources, before disappearing into the jungle. Since they had done it so swiftly and without attracting much attention, it seemed that they had been planning it for a long time. This act of betrayal had happened about two years ago.

This revelation was somewhat of a shock to the group of new officers. They knew the code well. It stated perfectly clear that betraying the Tempest equaled betraying humanity as a whole. One of the new officers now asked why the TS-1 hadn't been used to stop them. General Abrego explained that the Leader did not want to risk violating the truce with the Na'vi for a small incident such as this. Also, he did not believe that Lockwood and his men would be a threat to anyone. But this is where things had gotten more complicated. Orbital scans indicated that Lockwood had moved into Na'vi territory after his betrayal. According to the terms of the truce, the Na'vi were free to attack them for this. The Tempest had also sent out word that Lockwood's group was no longer part of the organization, and thus did not enjoy its protection. However, more recent orbital scans indicated that the Na'vi had moved away from the area. It would seem that Lockwood had intimidated them into leaving. One of the officers now asked just how exactly Lockwood had managed to do that with only a handful of men and no heavy weaponry. General Abrego responded that this was one of the things they had to find out. The possibility that Lockwood had joined up with a remaining army of machine units had already been ruled out, since not even a trace of single active machine unit had been found.

The new officers would be joining an existing team of investigators. Their job was to find out everything about Lockwood and his group, most importantly what they were planning to do, how, and why. This information would be used to determine the most effective strategy to get rid of them. General Abrego now revealed that psychologists had concluded that Lockwood had become totally insane. She then played a recording of the last radio contact they had had with him. On the recording, Lockwood could be heard citing various poems of his own making about the inevitability of a large scale war between life and death. He sounded as though he truly believed what he was saying. All of it had been phrased vaguely, so that one could interpret it in many different ways. Whether he had done this deliberately in an attempt to taunt the Tempest was unknown…


	6. Birth of the Tempest, part I

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

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**Originally, I had planned to reveal the history of the Tempest organization in one chapter, but I had enough ideas to write circa 5000 words, which is why I decided to split it up into two parts. Part II will be released within two weeks at maximum.**

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**Update of 21-04-2013: In the text above, you can see what I promised two weeks ago. However, I shouldn't have made this promise, because I simply cannot keep it. I do not usually announce release dates. However, since I was asked, I had decided to make an exception.**

**The problem is this: I have many other interests besides writing and Avatar. If I force myself to write for this story while I am not in the mood, there is a chance the quality will decrease, which is unacceptable.**

**The Invasion was eventually finished despite its many gaps of a few months in between chapter releases. You can expect the same pattern for this story.**

**Update of 30-05-2013: I will aim to release the next chapter within a few days. The chapter is complete, I just have to proof read it. **

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**Chapter 6: Birth of the Tempest, part I**

In a large circular chamber somewhere in the Tempest compound, Wilhelm was sitting quietly behind his desk. He had just started watching the last documentary film that had been made on Earth about him and the Tempest. The movie started with a black screen and ominous fanfare music playing. Soon, the music changed into a victorious theme as the logo of the Tempest faded in. The victorious music continued as the logo began rotating. The title of the movie "Victory of the Will" was displayed subsequently. The introduction sequence ended with a text message, which indicated that the movie had been made on behalf of the Leader.

Wilhelm was technically eighty years old, although nearly seven of those had been spent in cryosleep. It was an understatement to say that his body had had its best time. He now relied primarily on personal assistants to help him with daily tasks. All he had to do to call them was press a button on the console of his wheelchair. Despite his medical state, he was still the Leader of all humans here on Pandora. Before he had come along, the position, as well as the Tempest itself, had not existed. Now that Vincent Lockwood had betrayed him, he found it difficult to select an intermediate successor to his position. He had already planned that his long term successor was going to be one of his sons, Norman Torr, who would be arriving on Pandora three years from now. But Wilhelm considered the possibility that he would not live long enough to see this happen, and so a temporary Leader had to be appointed.

The commanders on Pandora were good at fulfilling their current positions, but none of them were suited to be the Leader in Wilhelm's opinion. They just didn't have the right mindset anymore. They had started out as ambitious and skilled people, but now they had become power hungry, which was exactly what could turn the position of Leader into the position of tyrant. Even though the council of the United Nations had the function of keeping the Leader of the Tempest in check, in practice it was quite a different matter. All personnel on or near Pandora had been assigned here precisely because of their loyalty. They would be happy to ignore the council and execute any order the legitimate Leader would give them, regardless of the fact who had the position. Wilhelm did not see another way to solve this problem than to postpone the naming of the temporary Leader for as long as possible. However, since Wilhelm kept his opinion of his commanders to himself, they didn't stop trying their best to become his new favorite in the hopes that he would still select one of them.

Wilhelm had struggled many years to build up what he currently had. And all he could do now was wonder what was going to happen when he would be unable to lead anymore and the commanders would take over. Perhaps if he had made different choices in his life, he might have been able to avoid this leadership crisis.

2114, sixty-four years ago

In one of Earth's overpopulated cities, in a cramped basement room of a dilapidated apartment, a sixteen year old blond haired and mustache-less Wilhelm Torr was seated behind his computer. He was chatting with his best friend from school, Ernst Nitschke. Ernst was now telling him about a grand vision he had had. He had envisioned a weapon so efficient and yet so destructive, that the mere idea of it being used would scare enemies into submission. He had come up with a design for it, which was inspired by an existing design that was more than 170 years old, but which had never been realized. The weapon would be built and placed in orbit around a planet, and would use multiple mirror arrays to concentrate sunlight into a beam of light, like a laser, which could be fired on the planet's surface. He believed that a superconducting material could be used to make the weapon more powerful. This superconductor would be used to concentrate the light even further than could be achieved using only mirrors. This weapon had the power to completely incinerate entire areas of the planet, and he called it the "Star Gun". Wilhelm laughed at that last bit and reminded Ernst that he had always been somewhat melodramatic. Also, it might be somewhat impractical to actually build something of that scale in space. Nevertheless, he found the concept very interesting. If only there were real enemies to use it on. Ernst looked at it from the bright side. He had a feeling that not long from now, alien life forms would be discovered, which would finally give humanity something to fight against. It was his opinion that this was the only way humanity could stop fighting itself and unite as a whole, because fighting was in their very nature. Wilhelm completely agreed with him.

While Wilhelm had been chatting with Ernst, another chat session had popped up on his screen. One of the girls in his class asked if he was also going to Jonathan's party tonight. All the people of their school year had been invited. At first, Wilhelm thought it was a joke, since Jonathan did not have enough money to organize something like that. Then, the girl explained that Jonathan had used all the money from the fundraising project he had done. She thought this had been the intention all along and admitted that no-one at school really cared about donating money to some poor African country. When Wilhelm read this, something inside him snapped. That bastard Jonathan, with whom Wilhelm had worked together to organize the fundraiser, had now decided behind Wilhelm's back that the money could be spent better. Wilhelm pictured Jonathan at the party, getting drunk, while somewhere on the other side of the world, children were starving. The slogan they had used for the project "For all mankind", apparently meant nothing to Jonathan.

Wilhelm immediately turned off his computer and drank two cans of energy drink, before starting weight lifting. Images of starving children kept flashing before his eyes, as he pumped himself full of adrenaline. All of a sudden, he made a rash decision and promptly threw down the weights. He packed a bag with clothes and some food, and took his father's brass knuckles and motorcycle helmet. The helmet was colored black and had a face-obscuring visor. Wilhelm then tied a black cloth around his arm, in mourning for the children who were going to die as a consequence of Jonathan's decision. Jonathan was now a betrayer of mankind, and therefore, he had to be brought to justice.

About an hour later, Jonathan was caught by surprise in an alley next to the building he had rented to host the party. He had left the building through a backdoor, to smoke something illegal. He was now startled by a tall person wearing a black helmet, who had apparently been waiting for him. Without saying anything, Wilhelm leapt at him and knocked him down. He then began pounding Jonathan's face while shouting out the slogan "For all mankind" one syllable per punch. However, he felt the need to repeat the slogan multiple times, complete with punches. Only when Jonathan's face had become a bloody mess, did Wilhelm stop. Wilhelm then quickly disappeared into the darkness of the night, never intending to return to school or his home ever again.

2123, fifty-five years ago

After leaving his old life behind, Wilhelm had begun a life of wandering the Earth. He had come in contact with many different cultures during this time, and had come to respect them greatly. Eventually, he had found a steady source of income in the United States. Several years later, Wilhelm had managed to become known internationally as a professional boxer. His victories over his opponents provided him with large sums of money, which he invested mostly in research programs that concerned the betterment of mankind. By this time, Wilhelm had bleached his hair white and had grown his iconic walrus-like mustache, as part of his image, the White Walrus. However, he had adopted these characteristics after he had already earned the nick-name. He had earned the name mostly because of his massive physique. Aside from being exceptionally tall, he had gained a lot of weight in the form of both muscles and fat. He did not look like a bodybuilder, but more like a big and massive brute, who could snap a person's neck with just one hand.

During a boxing match that had started like any other, the crowd was cheering wildly for both contestants. Wilhelm and his opponent, Pete "Pencil Neck" Mulholland, were old rivals, but they had decided together to give the spectators a show to remember. However, during the second round, several gunshots silenced the crowd. Two eco-terrorists were now threatening to kill more people if their demands were not met. Wilhelm and Pete immediately stopped the match. Both were confused as to why they would strike here of all places. Wilhelm didn't care to find out, though. He whispered his plan to Pete, who agreed, and who promptly left the ring. Wilhelm then grabbed the microphone and began speaking. His heavy voice immediately caught the attention of the terrorists. In the subsequent speech, he insulted the terrorists and their ways, claiming they were the scum of the Earth and a disgrace to humanity. In return, they mockingly called him mister Red Meat and accused him of being partly responsible for the mass slaughter of animals. Wilhelm subsequently announced that he was going to take care of them personally, and left the ring. Intimidated by the brute approaching them, the terrorists threatened to open fire on him. At that instant, Pete tackled one of them. He had gone around and approached them from behind, while Wilhelm had been keeping them distracted. Wilhelm now sprinted towards the other one, who immediately opened fire. He managed to hit Wilhelm in the right arm and shoulder, before the latter slammed him down with his remaining arm.

After the police had been called to take the terrorists into custody, Wilhelm was treated for his wounds. It was then that he realized it was in his power to actually do something about the ever growing criminal activity in the city.

2130, forty-eight years ago

Two people on stretchers were being rushed to the intensive care section of a hospital. One of them was Wilhelm Torr, the other a young blond girl of about ten years old. Both of them had extensive chemical burns on their faces. These had been caused by an acid attack carried out by a nihilist extremist, who believed that humanity's only possible future was self-destruction.

Wilhelm had been hired a few days ago by a local primary school to provide security during a field trip to a museum. While escorting the children inside, he only had his back turned for a few seconds, when he heard a loud scream behind him. A seemingly random pedestrian had apparently attacked a girl, although Wilhelm didn't immediately realize by what means he had done so. As Wilhelm rushed towards them, the man turned around and threw the liquid contents of a cup in his direction. The moment some of it hit his face and began burning, Wilhelm knew that it was concentrated acid. However, the adrenaline kept him going. He managed to floor the man and subsequently broke both the man's legs to prevent him from escaping.

Right now, Wilhelm was in a stable condition, but the girl's condition was getting worse. She had been hit by a larger dose than him. Wilhelm was lying on the bed beside her, watching helplessly as the doctors did everything they could. He could see that she was clutching a piece of paper in her hand, while struggling for her life. All of a sudden, a loud continuous beep could be heard when the girl's heart stopped beating. Attempts were made to revive her, but to no avail. The girl's grip loosened and the paper fell promptly to the ground.

After the girl's body had been taken away, Wilhelm asked one of the nurses to hand him the piece of paper. When he took a closer look, he realized that it was an essay the girl had been writing. She had been writing about how the Earth was figuratively dying. She had also drawn a black and white illustration. It consisted of a white disk, with a black dot in the middle that represented the Earth. Wilhelm took a pen from his bedside table and added four lightning sparks surrounding the black dot. These were meant to imply that despite the dying Earth, the spirit of humanity was still alive. He swore to himself that he would make sure a tempest would come to avenge her and stop humanity from destroying itself slowly and painfully. Wilhelm now had a vision in his mind about what was required to do this. He firmly believed that he was destined to make it a reality…

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**For those interested in knowing if the design the Star Gun was based on is real, I recommend you search "Sonnengewehr" on the internet.**


	7. Birth of the Tempest, part II

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

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**It looks like I placed that last update on the page of the previous chapter a few days to soon. Well, maybe more than a few… Anyway, a new chapter is here, so enjoy as always.**

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**Chapter 7: Birth of the Tempest, part II**

2136, forty-two years ago

In one of Earth's largest cities, there were three major criminal organizations recognized by the local authorities. Two of these were not really all that organized, since they consisted mainly of small bands of people, who happened to share similar opinions and goals. The third group was known as the Tempest. The paramilitary branch of the Tempest, known as the Storm Detachment, or SD, was responsible for countless attacks on the other groups, which they generalized as being the nihilists and the eco-terrorists. Though the attacks were considered justified in the eyes of the Tempest, they were in fact unlawful. Despite the violence used in the attacks, the Tempest never used guns and never intended to kill anyone. Their goal was to simply teach the scum a lesson by beating them up, and making them realize the ridiculousness of their points of view.

Wilhelm had personally designed every aspect of the Tempest from the ground up. He had made himself the absolute and undisputed Leader of the organization, since this was the most effective way to get things done quickly, in his opinion. The first officers consisted of Wilhelm's old friends and associates, such as Ernst Nitschke and Pete Mulholland. However, the early organization had also attracted the attention of ambitious outsiders, such as Yasmin Abrego. Wilhelm had created the Tempest to be an organization that did not favor any particular nation or people. Everyone was allowed to join, if they were human, if they swore to follow the Tempest code of honor, and if they committed themselves to stop humanity from destroying itself. Their differing ages, genders, skin colors, nations, religions, levels of intelligence or levels of physical fitness were irrelevant. The Tempest could find a suitable place for anyone in its organization.

Structure, order, discipline, loyalty, unity and symbolism were key-words in the organization of the Tempest. The members of the SD were issued black military-like uniforms, with face-obscuring black helmets, to both intimidate opponents and for its members to feel like one unit. The logo of the Tempest featured prominently on the uniforms. It the early days of the organization, Wilhelm himself would often join his troops, while wearing the same uniform, and fight injustice alongside them on the frontlines.

Earlier this year, on a regular day in the home city of the Tempest, the normal day-routine had been violently disrupted. A large earthquake had taken place on the bottom of the ocean. The authorities had known that a tsunami was inevitable. The alarms had been activated immediately and the citizens had been reasonably well prepared. When the waves hit the city, the casualties were minimal, but the damage was enormous. In the ensuing chaos, many people had taken the opportunity to loot whatever they could find. The local police were understaffed and underequipped and could not handle the situation. The Tempest had then taken the opportunity to show its true colors by offering its services to the authorities and not asking for anything in return. They had subsequently helped to apprehend the looters and defend the rest of the people. From that day on, the reputation of the Tempest had changed forever. When the crisis was over, the mayor of the city had ceremoniously given the key to the city to Wilhelm. Later, it had even been decided to rename the city Tempest City in their honor.

2150, twenty-eight years ago

By this year, the influence of the Tempest had spread around the world, and the organization had regular interactions with the United Nations. The Tempest had become more than an international political party with a paramilitary branch. They supported various non-profit organizations dealing with orphaned children and the elderly. Also, they invested in medical research and the development of new food production techniques. Wilhelm had become famous for his speeches in which he spoke about the future of humanity and what needed to change in order to improve it. Nevertheless, most ordinary people weren't all that interested in what he had to say, believing him to be just another politician who promised things he simply wouldn't live up to.

Several months ago, the UN had approved of the creation of a space station capable of providing support in terraforming Mars, by heating up the planet. Ernst Nitschke's old "Star Gun" design had been reworked into the TS-1 design, and private contractors had been approached to build it. The numerous investments Wilhelm had done in the past now provided the Tempest with all the funding required to realize this project.

Right after Wilhelm had returned from inspecting the construction of the TS-1 in Earth orbit, he was informed of a raid that had been conducted on a facility of the eco-terrorists. His personal presence was requested to resolve this matter. Half a day later, Wilhelm arrived at the location. Colonel Yasmin Abrego was there to welcome him. She informed him that this outpost was a research facility specialized in genetic modification. The SD had also found at least a dozen children, who apparently were the results of genetic experiments. Wilhelm asked if these children were human, to which Yasmin responded that Tempest scientists had tested them, and had concluded that they possessed both human and Na'vi genetic information. Wilhelm remained silent and simply frowned. Yasmin took the opportunity to express her opinion that the abominations had to be euthanized. She also reminded Wilhelm that they represented a gross violation of the Tempest code of honor. Wilhelm simply told her not to draw conclusions too quickly.

Yasmin then showed the completely human looking children to Wilhelm, and explained that they had the ability to breathe and survive in the atmosphere of Pandora for short periods of time. Wilhelm simply nodded. He subsequently gave the order to continue the operations at this facility, in order to enhance this ability. Yasmin looked at him like he was joking. Wilhelm reminded her that the Tempest code also strictly forbade the killing of fellow humans. The definition of being human was the real issue here. Since these genetically modified children looked human, functioned like humans and were still largely genetically similar to humans, Wilhelm considered them to be humans with a genetic defect. Therefore, they would enjoy the protection of the Tempest.

Wilhelm then revealed to Yasmin what he planned to use them for. The eco-terrorists had most likely engineered these children with the long term plan in mind of sending them to Pandora to side with the Na'vi. They had probably intended to instigate a revolution that would have cut off the rest of humanity from crucial resources. Yasmin doubted whether the eco-terrorists really wanted to do that to their own species. But Wilhelm insisted that these eco-terrorists were nothing more than incomprehensible low-life trash, who would do anything to disrupt the order and stability of human society. With these children on their side, the Tempest could create a very effective population in order to colonize Pandora and spread the influence of humanity throughout the known universe.

2154, twenty-four years ago

Recently, the RDA on Earth had received news of the exile of the human expedition from Pandora, by means of faster than light communication. The RDA had kept this a secret until after they had sent the MT-NET system and its A.I. machines as an assault team meant to pave the way for a new human expedition. However, when it was leaked to the public that they planned to rely on these traitorous machines to save the future of humanity, the era of the RDA came to an end. Its company shares dropped significantly, and the Tempest took the opportunity to acquire all their crucial assets.

In Tempest City, a large event was now taking place. At the Tempest rally grounds, thousands of people had gathered to witness the parade and the speech Wilhelm would be giving afterwards. Hundreds of troops were goose stepping in a giant outer circle, and saluted the Leader as they marched past the stage and speech table. When they had completed one circle, some of the troops stepped aside to make an opening for the inner circle. Hundreds of civilian members of the Tempest now began moving out of the inner circle. Each of them held up a vexilloid, a decorated standard with a silver colored Tempest emblem. After all of them had left the inner circle, the parade had ended and the speech could begin.

When Wilhelm finally began speaking, he promised to bring an end to the chaos that was plaguing human society. He revealed that the UN had approved of his initiative to replace understaffed and underequipped police forces worldwide with Tempest troops. But this wasn't all he had to say. He began recapping what had been revealed over the past four months. The RDA had lost control of Pandora, and therefore humanity did no longer have access to unobtanium. All of a sudden, the future of twenty billion people was at stake. And if it hadn't been for these eco-terrorists posing as scientists, who had sided with the natives, there wouldn't even be a problem. To make matters worse, the RDA had decided to put faith in a murderous A.I. and its machines to save humanity. Wilhelm then shook his head, sighed, and remained silent for a moment, before asking a question. How were they going to stop this madness?

Then, he gestured fiercely with his fists as he revealed the Tempest would be going to Pandora to show the natives the true might of humanity. As he roared the answer to the question, the crowd cheered back at him. Wilhelm continued by saying that the natives would be given a choice: give up the unobtanium peacefully, or face the wrath of the TS-1 orbital super weapon…

2155, twenty-three years ago

A convoy of vehicles was driving down the main street of Tempest City. Thousands of supporters had gathered on both sides of the street to witness the departure of the Leader of the Tempest. Wilhelm himself was seated in a specialized vehicle with large bullet proof windows, so that he was clearly visible to the supporters and at the same time protected from assassinations. He was wearing a beige colored ceremonial uniform, with a matching peaked cap. As always, he wore a black armband with the Tempest logo around his left arm. However, the peaked cap was decorated with a different emblem: the skull and crossbones. Wilhelm had chosen to wear the additional emblem to show his commitment to humanity. Once he would leave Earth, his favorite planet, to go to Pandora, he would not return again unless it was in a coffin. He had decided to devote the remainder of his life to lead the human expedition on Pandora, and had appointed his sons to lead the Earth-based section of Tempest.

Many common people now looked to Wilhelm as their savior. Some fanatics even compared him to historical religious figures. The city had raised funds to erect a bronze statue of Wilhelm, which would be placed in front of the city hall. The statue would depict Wilhelm as a giant, who carried the Earth on his shoulders.

The UN had agreed to continue supporting the Tempest under three conditions. The first condition was that fixed quantities of unobtanium had to be transported back to Earth at regular intervals. The second condition was that the natives of Pandora would not be harmed, unless the first condition could not be met. The third condition was that a UN council would be accompanying the Tempest to Pandora. This council would have the the power to remove the Leader of the Tempest from his position, if either of the first two conditions could not be met. Wilhelm had accepted these terms without hesitation. However, in secret both Ernst Nitschke and Yasmin Abrego did not agree with the second and third conditions. Wilhelm suspected this, but tolerated it nonetheless.

Wilhelm had no intention of starting a war with the natives. What he had said in his speech last year had simply been to rouse the Tempest supporters. Wilhelm had respect for the Na'vi as a people, and knew that they were just fighting for a continued survival, just like humanity was. But in the end, his only loyalty was to humanity, so if the natives would interfere with their operation in any way, they would have to be stopped by any means necessary.

2178, the present

The documentary film, which Wilhelm had been watching, had just finished. He now sighted, and asked himself, as he had done on many occasions, what could possibly have happened to colonel Lockwood, to make him betray the Tempest. If Lockwood hadn't gone rogue, Wilhelm would have promoted him to general and would eventually have made him temporary Leader of the Tempest. All Wilhelm could do now was worry about appointing a lesser suited candidate.

All of a sudden, Wilhelm's mind slipped, and his body began to shake uncontrollably. He started foaming at the mouth and his eyes rolled rapidly around in their sockets. His assistants, who were remotely monitoring his vitals every second of every day, rushed towards the chamber. But when they arrived, Wilhelm was already sitting motionlessly in his chair, with his mouth hanging open, and his blue eyes staring blankly ahead…


	8. The janitor

**This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.**

**Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. If there are any inconsistencies in this story, let me know and I will correct them.**

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**First of all, I would like to thank the reviewers and the followers for their interest in this story. I know that my updates are far less frequent than you would like. However, do not lose faith. Here is another chapter for you to enjoy.**

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**Chapter 8: The janitor**

2178, the present

Around three o'clock, Manja had completed another day of school. Today, she had taken the opportunity to ask their teacher about the lone Na'vi girl, who apparently lived near the outdoor training course. The teacher had explained that this Na'vi had been found by Tempest scouts in the jungle when she was just a baby. She had been brought here on the orders of Dr. Paul Nitschke, who had decided to raise her among humans as part of a psychological experiment. He wanted to use this unique opportunity to study the behavior of Na'vi who grew up away from their own culture. When Manja had expressed that it was cruel to keep the girl away from her own people, the teacher had responded coldly that the girl's own people had left her behind, so apparently they didn't want her anymore. Manja hadn't said anything in response to this. However, she had a feeling the teacher was not telling the full story about how the scouts had found her.

After leaving the classroom, Manja was curious to see how the Na'vi girl was doing. She made her way towards the training course, and looked around several times to make sure she was alone. Thomas was nowhere in sight, which was a good thing. Manja then carefully approached the small tower with the hut and yelled hello a few times. The Na'vi girl was either not here at all, or she was inside the hut and ignoring her calls, since there was no response whatsoever. Manja then decided to climb the rope ladder to see for herself. But before she was even halfway there, she heard a voice above her telling her sternly to go away. Manja looked up and could see the Na'vi girl looking down on her, with her head sticking out of the door opening. Manja tried to apologize for the rock throwing incident, but it had no effect. Seconds later, the girl disappeared out of view without saying a word, and promptly slammed the door shut. However, Manja didn't give up that easily and decided to wait nearby until the girl would exit the hut. Manja now went to the tallest training obstacle and climbed it all the way to the top. Here, she had a magnificent view of the entire training grounds, which were surrounded by a reinforced electrical fence. There were several guards stationed atop the platforms of each corner, but they didn't seem to pay any attention to what was going on inside the fence. From Manja's position, the exterior of one of the geodesic domes of the main Tempest base was also clearly visible.

About fifteen minutes later, an old man driving a small golf cart-like vehicle exited the base. The cart was pulling a small trailer loaded with various supplies. Manja had seen vehicles like this driving down the wide corridors inside. The man now stopped beside the hut of the Na'vi girl and sounded the horn. Surprisingly, the girl opened the door and climbed down. She then caught a small bag the man had thrown. Whatever it contained, it made her smile. Manja supposed this was the right moment to approach them, and immediately started the climb down. Soon, the Na'vi girl noticed her approaching again, and bluntly asked what she wanted now. Again, Manja apologized for what had happened, but she also told the girl she didn't have to be so rude. When the girl heard the latter remark, she became visibly angry and yelled that she was going to throw all those rocks back at her. Suddenly, the old man stepped in, and firmly told the Na'vi girl, who he called Kysana, to calm down. He pointed out that Manja had admitted her regret and couldn't change the past, and that she should accept the apology. After a moment of hesitation, Kysana did so. At first, Manja wasn't sure why Kysana would listen to this man. However, judging by the way the two of them talked to each other, it seemed like they were friends or something. Kysana referred to the man as Martin. Manja could see that the name tag on his coveralls read "M. Herman". With a smile on his face, Martin now accused both girls of taking all of this way too seriously and recommended they smiled some more. He then looked at his wristwatch and revealed that he had just enough time to tell them an interesting little story.

Many years ago, on a deserted planet with black oceans and a green sky, a single human lived peacefully. Although the air of the planet wasn't breathable, the man had an entire base available to him. There, he even grew his own food. The man was very content with his way of life, and he didn't want to trade it for anything else. This was because he knew how lucky he had been to end up here, since his homeworld was far too crowded. One day, however, the peace was disrupted by a group of invaders. They threatened to take the man away if he didn't do what they told him. Unfortunately, the man had no way to stop them on his own and essentially became a slave. That was when a band of the most unlikely bunch of heroes showed up. They consisted of a Na'vi, a human pretending to be a Na'vi, and a machine pretending to be a human. Even though they were all of different species, they did not make a big deal out of this. They were united by their equal morals and goals, not by their appearances or backgrounds. The heroes then teamed up with the man and together they eventually drove away the invaders. When the man expressed his desire to stay on the deserted planet all by himself, the heroes accepted his choice with respect. The man then lived out the rest of his life on the planet in peace, always remembering those who had freed him.

When Martin finished the story, he was staring at the ground with a hint of sadness. But before it became too obvious, his broad smile returned and he admitted that he had to get back to work again. Manja wanted to know who the man on the planet was, but Martin told her and Kysana that it was irrelevant. Instead, he told them that they should imagine themselves in the position of the heroes of the story and think about that. He then drove away, leaving both Manja and Kysana behind. For a moment, it remained quiet. Manja was the first one to say something. She told Kysana that if the group of her schoolmates would bother her again, she would side with her. Manja didn't care about belonging to the so-called popular kids led by Thomas. In fact, she realized that she didn't want to be associated with him anymore. He could say all he wanted to say, but in the end those would just be words. Kysana responded to her statement with a bit of indifference. She didn't really think that Manja would go through with that. She had always been on her own, why would that change now?

Later that day, after supper in the mess hall, Manja was in her room, doing some of her homework. Her father Derek was sitting behind his desk, reviewing some of the information he had received on the Lockwood case. This information was considered highly classified. It concerned the statements made by a woman of the cleaning crew, who had visited Lockwood the day before he had gone rogue. The woman had explained that she had been scheduled to clean Lockwood's apartment each week for a few months. She had often interacted with him, and he had seemed to be a gentle person in her opinion. However, the last time she had visited him, he had been a lot more irritable than usual. When she had accidently knocked a cup off the table, Lockwood had snapped, as if it was the last straw in a series of events that had been bothering him for a long time. But besides his ranting, other, more bizarre things had happened. According to her statement, the furniture in the room had started shaking and the pieces of the cup began to float in mid-air. She had become so frightened that she had fled the apartment, and initially didn't tell anyone of what she had seen, thinking that no one would believe her.

Derek was beginning to understand that the Lockwood case was no ordinary case of soldiers going AWOL. He knew that the previous team of investigators had found information that concerned several other paranormal events surrounding Lockwood. Also, the effects of these events might explain why the Na'vi had moved away from Lockwood's location in the jungle. However, Derek believed that there were rational explanations for what had caused these paranormal events. He just needed more time to figure out what they were, and why Lockwood would use such a charade.

While Derek was still plunged into his thoughts, Manja entered the living room and asked him if he knew anything about the Na'vi people. It took him a moment to realize that his daughter was talking to him. He then quickly responded that he didn't know much about them, but that he could get her an e-book about them, which had been written by several experts. However, Manja wasn't interested in that. She now told her father about the Na'vi girl Kysana she had met today. Derek admitted that he seen that girl from a distance. Unfortunately, he had been too busy with his work to ask any questions about her. Manja sighed, and told her father that Kysana was all alone and that no-one seemed to care about her, except for Manja herself and some old guy working as a janitor. Derek then put Lockwood's dossier away, and gave his daughter his full attention. He pointed out that there was likely a very good reason that Kysana was being kept here, away from her people. In any case, she wasn't completely alone, if this janitor was already her friend. He also told Manja that she herself could be Kysana's friend if she wanted to. But Manja wondered whether this was against the rules. Derek was sure that if nobody was allowed to befriend her, she would not be living out in the open for everyone to interact with. To further reassure his daughter, Derek told her that he would try to get more information about the situation surrounding Kysana tomorrow morning. After Manja had completed her day of school, he would tell her all he had found out. Manja became a bit more cheerful when she heard this, and thanked her father with a hug.

The next day, early in the morning, a formal announcement was made. All video screens in the base began displaying the face of Wilhelm Torr, the Leader of the Tempest, with a semi-transparent Tempest logo superimposed over his face. However, the voice that made the announcement wasn't Wilhelm's. The anonymous voice now revealed that their dear Leader had had a seizure. Although he was still alive, he was in a coma, and the best doctors had determined that it was unlikely he would ever regain consciousness. Since Wilhelm had not announced who he planned to appoint as interim Leader, the highest ranking commanders had therefore decided to organize an election. Ernst Nitschke, Yasmin Abrego and Pete Mulholland now were the candidates who could be elected to replace Wilhelm until he recovered, or until his son Norman Torr arrived on Pandora. Only members of the Tempest could vote, which meant that the UN council was not involved in the election. It was also announced that all non-essential personnel were allowed to take the day off to honor and remember Wilhelm and to think about who they wanted to vote for. Despite the fact that Derek belonged to the category of personnel who were allowed to take the day off, he went to work nonetheless, since he had made his daughter a promise. Manja remained at home, waiting for her father to return, hopefully with good news. She supposed that there was no point in making friends with Kysana if she didn't know for sure she was allowed to.

Right after the announcement had been made, the janitor Martin Herman retreated to his personal quarters. He promptly removed the lock on one of his desk drawers, opened it, and took out a small communication device. The device had not been issued by the Tempest and it made use of advanced encryption technology. This made it nigh impossible for a third party to tap into the signal. Martin now switched on the device and immediately began informing the other side that the Leader of the Tempest, Wilhelm Torr, had been incapacitated. The Tempest hadn't decided yet who was going to be his successor. A distorted and unnaturally deep sounding voice answered. It informed Martin that the plan could now be accelerated and subsequently gave Martin the command to continue to provide updates concerning this matter. The voice then revealed that he would persuade an outsider to 'open the door' permanently. When this had been done, the next stage of the plan could be executed. Martin was now getting nervous, and asked the voice if he was going to hurt the other people here, besides the designated targets. The voice then accused Martin of disloyalty, and asked him if he remembered what he would get back in exchange for his services. Martin sighed, but admitted that he would never forget that. The voice then reminded Martin that if he would question anything ever again, he would suffer the same fate as the targets…


End file.
